JUNK DRAWERS

Do we ever stop to think about the everyday things we take for granted?  Simple things like coat hangers, paper plates, windshield wipers, safety pins, can openers, cardboard boxes, Scotch tape, nail clippers, scissors, tape measures, keys, rubber bands......the list is literally endless.  A whole lot of these essentials are found in our junk drawers.  That one drawer, usually in the kitchen, is dedicated to miscellaneous stuff we use daily and to which we need quick access.  

My first question:  Do you have a junk drawer in your home?  

In our case, we have two.  Reason?  The size of the drawers.  If the object isn't found in the first drawer, then it requires a search of the second.  This became acceptable and just the way it is.  

Second question:  Do you attempt to organize your junk drawer?  Does it make sense to organize a junk drawer?  There does come a time, tho, when so much stuff is crammed into these drawers, that perhaps a rearrangement or purge becomes necessary. Sometimes we try to pull the drawer out, and something toward the back of the drawer gets jammed.  One must attempt to reach back and dislodge the item, or try to quickly jerk the drawer to get it open.  If neither of those attempts is successful, one must rely on the use of a wooden spoon handle or other long prod to move the bad boy.

Our junk drawers have plastic silverware dividers in an effort to categorize our miscellany.  That's a useless solution, because things are never returned to the exact spot they were taken from.  If two people or more live in the same space, there's not a chance in a million that this drawer can be kept neat and tidy.  That's as impossible as asking an elephant to walk through a key hole.

Like everything, even the junk drawer has a history dating back to 1912.  A New York dentist referenced his 'junk drawer' in the context of keeping all of his gadgets handy to where he was working.  Who knew!

It would be an interesting challenge to take inventory of one's junk drawer, wouldn't it?  So many little things are needed for us humans to address the mini dilemmas that pop up at unforeseen intervals.  To remedy these problems, we immediately reach for the junk drawer.  

Where is this going?  I think the junk drawer should be renamed to something more appropriate.  After all, the stuff we need and use and require isn't junk.  Names matter.  Maybe if they weren't called junk drawers, we'd be more diligent in returning stuff to their rightful spot.  The term 'junk' tells the brain to throw it in the drawer and go.

So, what should we rename this sacred space?  One thought might be the Random Drawer.  That kinda says it all.  A drawer of indispensable random objects necessary to daily human functioning on planet Earth.  

Do my followers have suggested names for this important kitchen drawer????